Lady Cop Makes Trouble

When Constance Kopp becomes one of the nation's first deputy sheriffs, she has already proven that she can't be deterred, evaded, or outrun. But when the wiles of a German-speaking con man threaten her position and her hopes for this new life, and endanger the honorable Sheriff Heath, Constance may not be able to make things right. Now she's on the streets of New York City and New Jersey tracking down victims, trailing leads, and making friends with girl reporters and lawyers at a hotel for women. Cheering her on, and goading her, are her sisters Norma and Fleurette.

I really enjoyed the development of Constance's career within the police department, and her issues with self identity as a single woman during the period. I was thankful for some much needed character development in this volume. I'm looking forward to their future adventures!

I found the sequel as entertaining as "Girl Waits with Gun". Constance Kopp is shaken when the Sheriff tells her that a legal question has arisen concerning her status as one of this deputies. In this title, Constance must track a fugitive to try to save her post - and like every police officer, finds herself trying to keep up with more than one mystery at a time. Police procedural (sorta), circa 1915.

While I didn't love this quite as much as "Girl Waits With Gun", this is still a thoroughly enjoyable follow-up. We rejoin Constance Kopp as she's working as Sheriff Heath's deputy -- until a prisoner escapes on her watch, and she has to catch him in order to save both her job and the sheriff's. The heart of this series is the three Kopp sisters, who are so interesting and well-drawn -- I could read Constance's interactions with her pigeon-loving sister Norma all day. I also appreciate the idea of a 36-year-old woman who describes herself as "matronly" being an awesome kick-butt "lady cop", to quote the title. This is a clever, fast, totally fun read.

Constance Kopp, as one of the characters remarks, is aptly named. Sheriff Heath is having difficulty getting her a position as a deputy with a badge and the right to arrest criminals. Her situation as the breadwinner of her family is in jeopardy when a train wreck and an electrical outage in an unfamiliar hospital enables a prisoner she's guarding to escape. Sheriff Heath, according to the law of the time, faces prosecution for allowing a jail inmate to escape; so, in order to be sure he keeps his job and, therefore, she can keep her job, her sisters encourage Constance to catch the criminal herself. The result is a highly engaging second book in the series based on research by the author, who has written several nonfiction books. Stewart lives in Northern California, where she and her husband run a bookstore.

Constance Kopp is back, now as Deputy Sheriff in 1915 Bergen County, NJ. But a moment of inattention puts that job in jeopardy, and Constance sets out to capture a runaway jailbird before the Sheriff loses his own job. The word "charming" pales as a description of the delightful Miss Kopp, who, along with her sisters, offers an amazingly realistic window to her time and place. Fans of historical mysteries and gentle reads like A.J. Fikry or The Rosie Project will smile at this sharp and witty caper.